I'm looking to run Linux off of a USB drive (512MB). I would like to have:

-A 2.6.x kernel-Hardware detection so I can use it on any machine-The ability to uninstall whatever came with the distro-GCC readily available-Some space left over so I can actually use it as a USB drive

I basically stuck it in a computer with generic networking and integrated graphics, booted the Debian install CD in expert mode*, and chose the USB key as the install drive, formatting it as EXT2 to prevent excessive wear.

I also added an entry to GRUB to allow for booting on computers with a SATA drive.

*I used expert so I could just do that minimal install, then add the packages I wanted later.